Shortage of local rice in Malaysia due to diseases and lack of clean water - The Straits Times

“Our yield is very bad because we have to pump water from the nearby waterways into the fields, but the water from this source is contaminated,” he said, explaining that this caused many plants to die before reaching maturity.

He said that the problem of the shortage of clean water for the padi fields first took root almost a decade ago, and has escalated to the current situation.

He added that the only solution was for the relevant authorities to tap underground water and build a covered storage area for farmers to water their fields.

Another Sekinchan padi farmer, Mr Mohd Asri Badron, said that seeds given to farmers are of poor quality, causing them to succumb to diseases such as bacterial leaf streak disease (BLS), bacterial leaf blight (BLB) and bacterial panicle blight (BPB).

In comparison, the hybrid seeds used by farmers in most other regional rice-producing nations are “sturdier and can fight infection better”, he said. He expressed hope that these seeds could also be made available to Malaysian padi farmers.

To counter bacterial infection to increase yield, Mr Asri said, padi farmers must spend additional money to buy and use organic fertiliser and products to cultivate good bacteria. “Cultivating good bacteria to battle the destructive BLS, BLB or BPB can be helpful in increasing yield,” he added.

The president of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations, Datuk Marimuthu Nadason, said the government must realise that rice is the main staple food in Malaysia.

“Since there is a shortage here, the government must source new markets so that Malaysia will have the bargaining power to negotiate better pricing,” he said, adding that Malaysia is importing rice from the same few markets and not shopping around for cheaper alternatives.

He also suggested that the government could expand padi cultivation by using available idle land to plant rice.

Sekinchan assemblyman and Selangor executive councillor Ng Suee Lim said the authorities must monitor the distribution chain because of suspicions that local rice is being packaged and sold as the imported variety.

“There is a syndicate behind this, and when they repackage local rice and sell it as an imported product, they will be selling it for between RM33 and RM35, which is higher than the RM26 price set for 10kg of local rice,” he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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